People had entered cheerfully, but left with faces as bitter as gourds.
Being good at studying didn't mean one enjoyed exams - any student would instinctively feel nervous upon hearing about tests, except for Hermione.
The young witch was currently dragging a bewildered Ariana to formulate their upcoming revision schedule.
"Starting exams right after enrolling... Couldn't we turn her into a spectral state and restore her after the exams are over?"
Unfortunately, Wayne had already followed the Hufflepuff badgers back to the Common Room.
"Wayne, who exactly is Percival?" Cedric asked mysteriously as soon as they entered. "You never mentioned anything about transfer students before."
Wayne tilted his head in thought. "Aside from me, the person with the strongest backing in the entire wizarding world."
Cedric and the eavesdropping students nearby were shocked. "That impressive?"
"I'm not lying to you," Wayne said with complete seriousness.
Dumbledore went without saying: rediscovering familial affection could make him compromise his principles, become Minister for Magic, or even take on dirty work like helping Wayne with robberies.
As for Grindelwald, he had recently been constantly apologising to Ariana, buying piles of snacks, clothes, and various wizarding world luxuries - everything from dragonhide schoolbags to ornaments made from Unicorn horns.
To earn the little girl's forgiveness, he had truly spared no expense, even putting aside his recent research projects. Every day, he endured Aberforth's scornful looks and sarcastic remarks to come chat with Ariana.
Strictly speaking, Wayne could be considered part of Ariana's backing, too - after all, who could resist a well-behaved, sensible blonde little girl who called you 'big brother'?
"Could she be a young lady from some mysterious pure-blood family?"
Instantly, many minds automatically began constructing background stories for Ariana.
Wayne paid them no mind and returned to his dormitory, disappearing into his suitcase world.
"System, open that so-called World Gift Package."
He had been spending time with his girlfriend recently and hadn't bothered with the system—it was just one gift package, anyway.
But this was the first time he'd heard of a World Gift Package, and he wondered if it might contain something good.
Just as Wayne was getting excited, the system delivered a cold notification.
[Recommend host formally breaks through to Legend tier before opening. World Gift Package is the highest-level reward in the current version. High probability of obtaining True God-level rewards (Minimum requirement for divinity binding is Legend tier.)]
Wayne was taken aback.
Was he being looked down upon by the system?
"I'll save it for later then." Wayne didn't mind much - it would happen soon enough anyway, so waiting a bit longer didn't matter.
Looking at the over ten thousand points on the interface, he decided to use them directly. With the panel already open, doing nothing felt like a waste.
Streaks of blue-purple light flashed by, and on the eighty-third draw, a golden light suddenly burst forth.
Without hesitation, Wayne clicked to open it. A blue rune merged into his forehead, transmitting massive streams of information.
"Bloody hell!"
Wayne's eyes widened in surprise.
[Arcane Comet (Gold): Summon a spell comet composed of pure energy. Damage cap determined by magical power content. Can be imbued with different attributes.]
The description was straightforward. Nowadays, ordinary Epic-level rewards hardly caught Wayne's attention.
Having Arcane Comet just means gaining another attack method, that's all.
But most importantly, Arcane Comet was the final piece he was missing from the Sorcery runes. Once all were gathered, even Gathering Storm – capped at Legend peak – would undergo a transformation.
[Detected host has collected all Sorcery rune talents. Talents are resonating and fusing. Estimated fusion time – fifteen days.]
Wayne only felt a slight tremor in his mind as the power of the Sorcery runes automatically projected out, spinning and entangling before him, drawing closer and closer together.
The strange spectacle lasted only a few seconds before those runes transformed into the purest magical power and returned to Wayne's body.
Fortunately, the fusion process wouldn't interfere with his normal activities; otherwise, Wayne would have had to lie here for a fortnight.
With feelings of joy and anticipation, Wayne had a good night's sleep.
...
Another new week began, and Hogwarts once again became a land brimming with vitality, where all things competed to flourish.
On Monday morning, both Hufflepuff classes were shared with Gryffindor. During breakfast, Wayne glanced over and saw Ariana smiling as she chatted with Hermione and several roommates, which reassured him considerably.
In Herbology class, since Aberforth had previously taught mostly Charms with little knowledge about herbs and potions, Ariana was struggling to keep up.
Yet she diligently noted down all the key points Professor Sprout mentioned, planning to study hard afterwards to catch up with the progress.
But when it came to Transfiguration class, Ariana demonstrated her natural talent.
Working with the Vanishing Spell – still the main focus for fifth years – she used an ordinary wand given by Wayne to make a small hedgehog on the table completely vanish, and could even summon it back again, making Professor McGonagall's eyes shine with excitement.
Another promising seedling.
But Wayne could see several issues.
After class, the young wizards headed to the Great Hall for lunch, while Wayne took Ariana to Diagon Alley to buy textbooks and daily necessities.
"Ariana, don't fear your magical power," Wayne advised the young girl as they walked along Diagon Alley's streets. "Magical power isn't your enemy, and the Obscurial only represents your past suffering."
Ariana froze momentarily, somewhat at a loss. "Big Brother Wayne..."
"Just now when you used the Vanishing Spell, you were deliberately suppressing your magical power, weren't you?"
"Mm," the girl murmured, lowering her head.
Hosts of Obscurials were unfortunate people, but it also meant they possessed magical power far beyond that of ordinary people.
Like Ariana, her magical power was no less than Snape's, even several times greater in difference.
Yet because of her past experiences and knowing what disasters an Obscurial outbreak could cause, Ariana performed magic very cautiously, constantly suppressing her instincts.
Ordinary observers couldn't tell from the results – only someone with Wayne's sensitivity to magical power could sense the awkwardness in it.
Gently ruffling Ariana's golden hair, Wayne patiently guided her. "The Obscurial problem will be solved eventually. Even if it can't be completely resolved, I can help suppress it. But excessively restraining your magical power will only make it rebel and become nourishment for the Obscurial."
"Remember, you need to control your magical power to achieve perfect mastery, not forcibly suppress it. Pay attention to this from now on, alright?"
"Mm, I'll remember," Ariana nodded firmly.
"Excellent. You can have old Dumbledore as your training partner every weekend from now on. Sooner or later, you'll grow accustomed to your magical power."
After finishing Ariana's education, the two entered the clothing shop to have school uniforms custom-tailored, then purchased all items on the list from the bookshop and materials store before finally arriving at Ollivander's wand shop.
Seeing Wayne during the quiet off-season, an idle Ollivander enthusiastically hugged him.
"Sycamore, twelve and one-third inches, unicorn tail hair. Mr Lawrence, your brilliance shines as brightly as Zeus, the King of Gods."
Ollivander was delighted - Wayne's name was already destined for the history books, and the wand he crafted would be recorded alongside it, becoming part of the legend.
"Mr Ollivander, I've brought you a premium customer," Wayne said with a laugh, introducing Ariana.
"Transfer student?" Ollivander glanced at her, "That's quite rare, but no matter. Ollivander will find the most suitable master for every wand."
He waved his wand, and one narrow wooden box after another flew down from the shelves.
After Ariana tried the first wand, Ollivander's eyes brightened even more - he could see something more.
This birch and unicorn tail hair wand was actually afraid of Ariana's magical power.
Subsequently, Ariana experienced the same treatment Wayne once had - wand after wand was exchanged in her hands, with none satisfying Ollivander's standards for compatibility.
"Acacia wood, dragon heartstring. Though an unusual combination... we must try everything," Ollivander produced a dust-covered wooden box. "This is my grandfather's work - over a hundred years old, yet it never found a suitable master."
As Ariana took it, her hand involuntarily rose, and a powerful spark containing black matter shot out. Wayne swiftly intercepted it, or the old building might have been blown open today.
Ollivander keenly noticed the black substance but gave Wayne and the girl only a deep look, without prying further.
"This one then," Wayne decided firmly, and Ariana nodded happily.
Acacia wood was an unusual wand material that would reject any wizard other than its true master; its properties were less stable than holly or birch. Dragon Heartstring was equally temperamental. Combined, they created something like a powder keg that could explode at any moment.
This indeed shared some similarities with Ariana's current situation. Once fully tamed, it would become her faithful companion.
After paying twenty Galleons, Wayne led the delighted Ariana back to school.
With her own wand, that feeling of perfect harmony significantly reduced her magical resistance.
...
Over the following week, Ariana gradually settled into school life.
For studies, Hermione accompanied her in revision and helped tutor her on previous years' coursework before bedtime.
For leisure, there was Astoria. The weather remained pleasant throughout the week as Hogwarts had already entered spring. Their favourite activity was riding the giant squid Rost, sitting atop its smooth head while admiring the castle and surrounding forest scenery.
On Saturday, a Quidditch Match was held, where Hufflepuff defeated Ravenclaw by a large margin, maintaining their advantage in the championship race.
After brief celebrations, the little badgers once again threw themselves into intense revision, preparing for the exams two days later.
Entering exam week, Hogwarts suddenly became much quieter. Every day was spent either rushing between different exam halls or cramming in the library before tests.
Meanwhile, in the wider world, after the Ministry of Magic had controlled celebration activities across various locations, they turned their focus to eliminating the remaining threats.
On the night of Wayne's duel with Voldemort, not only was Hogwarts attacked, but Dementors and dark creatures had also invaded the Ministry of Magic.
Although the Aurors on duty repelled them, the matter couldn't simply be left at that.
Most crucially, those Vampires were armed with a large number of weapons crafted by Goblins, which caused significant trouble. Several of the most severely injured Aurors still hadn't recovered and remained in hospital beds at St Mungo's.
Crouch certainly wouldn't let this slide.
After reading the report sent by Crouch, Dumbledore pondered for a moment before asking, "What do you plan to do?"
"You will lead the team to negotiate with them."